Ft. Benning a finalist for Army leadership headquarters. Here’s how many soldiers could come.
Fort Benning is one of three finalists to become a new Army leadership headquarters — a move that could bring more than 600 soldiers to the area.
The post was recently selected as a finalist for the Army’s fourth corps headquarters, which is needed to fulfill requirements of the National Defense Strategy, according to a statement from U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s office.
In a letter to Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, both Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler lobbied for the military branch to select Benning, touting its “unmatched training, support, and command facilities and its ability to quickly activate the new headquarters.”
“Fort Benning is a crown jewel of the Army uniquely qualified to host the new corps headquarters,” the senators wrote. “As the home to the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning provides unmatched training, support and command facilities. It includes 26 million square feet of facilities and 102,000 acres of maneuver training areas capable of supporting all manner of maneuver operations, tactics, and training.”
The site would serve as an administrative headquarters for deployment to Europe. Other finalists for the designation are Fort Knox in Kentucky and Fort Drum in New York, according to Perdue’s office.
North Country Public Radio in New York reports that the designation could bring 600 to 700 more soldiers to the installation selected, including senior officers and a three-star general.
The new headquarters is expected to be activated in October 2020, according to Perdue’s office.
Fort Benning directed questions about the possible headquarters to the Army’s public affairs office.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 2:35 PM.